Title: Melting Glass

Rating: up to NC-17

Author: Sasha

Pairing: Catherine/Sara

Spoilers: "Play With Fire" 3x22

Disclaimer: I don't own these girls, I just play with them for a while….

The first time it happened was an accident, or so they both said. A fleeting moment, whirlwind passion; both of them thinking too much to be thinking about their actions. It wasn't true. I

"You don't even think about anyone other than yourself!" Sara shouted eyes ablaze.

"You're one to speak; you go to apprehend a suspect before a scene is cleared! What were you thinking? Where was your head, huh?"

"What do you care anyway?" Catherine narrowed her eyes at Sara as she set her hands on her hips. "Don't do that. Do not get all high and mighty on me." Catherine held back a smirk as she tilted her chin up just so…

Then, it happened. Sara nearly tripped as she scrambled over to Catherine, grabbing her face between her hands. Their lips collided, Catherine moaning out of surprise. Sara felt the blonde tense up, but tightened her hold, reluctant to let go unless it was on her terms. Sara smiled into the kiss as the tension washed from the smaller woman's body and Catherine began to reciprocate. As quickly as it happened, it was over. Sara was up, and across the locker room as Catherine's eyes opened. She watched with dilated eyes as Sara boldly walked out of locker room, swaying her hips.

"What the hell just happened?" Catherine asked herself out loud, touching her lips. Her whole body tingled from the kiss, her heart beating wildly. She had never, ever thought of Sara in that way. Sara was her coworker… her coworker who had this annoying thing for Grissom that made Catherine's stomach turn in more ways than one. The same Sara who fights with her every chance she gets. Sara Sidle. Sara who…kissed her. "What?!" Catherine says again, out loud. She holds a hand up to the side of her face and shuts her eyes. 'Would this be bothering me so much if I didn't enjoy it? Fuck!'

Catherine stands up, and immediately holds a hand out to the lockers to her left, as her legs turn to jelly. "Fuck, Sara!"

A week has passed, neither of the women acknowledging the kiss. Sara seemed completely unfazed by the whole argument, the kiss, everything. It may be the pain meds. Because God knows, without being high off her ass from Vicodin she would have never asked Grissom out. The kiss, for Catherine, seemed to open a door for her. She began looking at her brunette coworker in a completely new light. She loved the way her hair fell into her eyes when she tilted her head. The way her face lit up when she had a break in a case. The way she would pout when something was confusing her. Everything about Sara amazed Catherine. Everything was perfect except for that nasty white bandage that covered her hand. It was a constant reminder that she hurt her, she hurt her physically and Sara needed medical attention. The thought made Catherine's heart clench up and the air escape her lungs.

"Hey Sara." Catherine said, a bit too hopefully as Sara walked into the locker room at the end of shift.

"Uh.. hi." She said, clearly confused by Catherine's behavior.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened?"

"I, I don't know what you're talking about, Catherine." Catherine nodded her head slowly and opened her mouth slightly as if to say something, but waited a moment.

"You kissed me."

"You accused me of not caring about anyone other than myself." Sara stated, tensely.

"So you have feelings for me? You could have just said that."

"I was trying to shut you up." Sara replied defensively.

"Sara, I- listen, I'm not trying to corner you or anything, I-"

"Then stop. Just… leave it." Sara waved her arms in front of her as she spoke, stopping rigidly. Catherine sighed and dropped her head.

"Consider it done." Catherine said with finality before turning. Her body jerked as she was kept in place by her hand being held in place. Catherine stopped her stride and held her head high.

"If you could, don't mention this to anyone else." I scoffed and shook my head. "Please." She added. Catherine shook her hand hard, relinquishing Sara's grip before she walked out. The sound of heels clicking hard on the linoleum floors was deafening.

The next two weeks were hell for Catherine. Every time she was around her younger, female coworker her palms began to sweat, her breathing quickened, speech without stuttering every now and then was becoming more and more difficult. To make things worse, Sara hadn't noticed in the least. Unfortunately for her, that night Catherine was stuck in the lab catching up on the growing mountain of paperwork she had been putting off. Everyone else? Out.

She had been through half of the tan case files when she had heard a loud slamming noise echo through the halls. Thankfully, Ecklie was not in or else he would have someone's ass. Since Grissom was out in the field, Catherine was in charge which meant seeking out the interruption.

She gasped when she walked into the locker room and found Sara clutching her hand.

"What happened, what did you do?" Catherine said in a worried tone, stepping up to her.

"Would you believe the row of lockers got in my way?" Sara replied, angrily. When Catherine stared at her with disbelief and concern, Sara continued. "That was supposed to be a joke."

"It wasn't funny." Sara laughed bitterly. "What has gotten into you?"

"This fucking bastard thought his wife deserved getting roughed up because she broke a dish.. or folded his shirts the wrong way. When she tried to leave him, he cut out her heart and nailed it to the wall." Sara barely kept the tears out of her eyes, her throat constricting with a lump.

"Sara.. you... have got to stop taking these things personal."

"Fuck you." Catherine clenched her hands into tiny fists, and exhaled slowly. She knew Sara was looking for a fight, but she wasn't going to give her one.

"You're going to burn yourself out."

"You know, I really don't care right now. What's the point?"

"Go home, you're off the case."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"Like hell I can't. I'll take over from here." Catherine's heart pounded in her ears, she made a decision that would probably scare the young girl off for good. She stepped forward, and cradled the girl's head between her hands. She softly pressed her lips against Sara's. She felt the taller woman relax in her arms, and she gasped as she felt strong hands grip her waist. Opening her mouth up slightly, she licked her lower lip. Sara gasped at the action and met Catherine's tongue before kissing the blonde deeply. Slowly, the kiss ended and both women parted, panting lightly.

"Are you okay?" Catherine asked softly, as she moved a hand down and placed it against Sara's chest feeling her heart beat out of control.

"Besides feeling like my heart is about to beat out of my chest? Yeah… just fine." Catherine laughed softly. She looked up into dark, dilated eyes and smiled.

"I'll let you stay on the case under the agreement that you will handle this case objectively."

"Promise."

"And that we'll talk about this after shift." At this, Sara groaned. "Agreed?"

Sara watched her for a long moment before swallowing hard. "Agreed."